This invention relates to racks for the storage of cards, information sheets, leaflets, folders or the like, or of other flat objects, all of which are included, where appropriate, in the term "cards" which will be used in the following description.
The invention has for its principal object the provision of such racks, which may be in the form of one or more units, in which such cards can be kept, and if desired displayed, in a way which will allow individual cards to be easily identified and removed as neccessary for reference or use.
Another object of the invention is the provision of such racks which can be adjusted to suit cards of different sizes.
A further object of the invention is a provision of such racks which include a number of pockets for holding the cards, which can be adjusted or used to hold cards, including documents or the like, of many different sizes. Such cards or documents can be used, for example, as aids to planning and recording the use of resources, whether manpower, machines or materials. The racks can be used for stock control, for the booking of space and/or time and for locating other documents or files, to give a number of examples.
As will appear from the following description the invention, in one of its aspects, makes use of pockets which are made of flexible material and are provided with means for adjusting their depths. It is also possible to use fixed pockets having either adjustable supports or a series of fixed supports on which the bottom edges of the cards are supported.
The invention, in one of its aspects, provides apparatus for storing and displaying cards, including information sheets or other documents or articles as referred to above, which apparatus comprises a number of pockets arranged one above the other, each of which pockets is formed of a sheet of flexible material which is supported at its front and back edges, means being provided for adjusting the effective length of the flexible material which forms the pocket so as to reduce or increase the depth of the latter.
Preferably the front edge of the material of each pocket is fixed to, or itself acts as, a fixed cross-bar and means are provided for moving the back edge of the material upwardly or downwardly to reduce or increase the depth of the pocket. Thus the rear edges of the material forming the pockets may be secured to a frame, plate or other member or to a number of members which can be moved upwardly or downwardly to vary the depths of the pockets simultaneously.
Alternatively the rear edges of the material of the pockets may be secured to rods or rollers which can be turned to reduce or increase the depths of the pockets. Belt or other drive connections are preferably provided so that the turning of one rod turns all the others, thus ensuring that the depths of the pockets are decreased or increased simultaneously.
Alternatively the pockets may have fixed front walls which are provided with means for supporting the lower edges of the cards at different levels. There may be a series of projections at different levels, the fronts of the pockets being inclined to the vertical, or supports for the cards may be provided which are adjustable up and down by suitable means.
According to another feature of the invention means are provided for adjusting the widths of the pockets. These may take the form of one or more dividing members the positions of which can be adjusted laterally, relatively to the widths of the pockets. The members are preferably removable so that unwanted ones can be kept separately for future use.